Hello! By now you should all be aware of tonight’s Hand Eye Society Social (details here, but: Unit Bar, 1198 Queen West, doors 7 p.m., presentation 8 p.m.). In an entirely unsanctioned by the event hosts (Capy/Superbrothers) kind of way, I just want to note that I’ll have a few copies of issue minus one of my video game ‘zine, exp., in my bag with me if anyone wants a copy. It’s a mere $5 for 32 pages of fairly unusual video game writing, with articles including Punch Out!!(A failed poem), Metal Gear Ac!d(An absurdly complex DIY boardgame for one), and Red Faction Guerrilla(A dream of a spaceship).
The issue I’ll have with me is the second edition of the issue I sold at Canzine (next to the Torontron, see here) and completely failed to announce at the time, so if you already own a copy, huzzah! and you don’t have to bother picking it up again (unless all the original spelling mistakes and grammatical errors annoy you.)
Anyway, if you see me around and want a copy, just ask (I am the dude next to the magazines in the previously-linked coverage). And if you want one but aren’t coming to the social (for shame!) you can buy online here. Thanks!
Pictures do not really do it justice. When you’re standing in front of the TORONTRON with your hands on the classic joystick and button, you’re wrapped in a cocoon of sound and light that is an experience more than the sum of its parts.
While the crown jewel at the event was undoubtedly the TORONTRON, we had a bunch of things going on in the Artcade. Here’s Craig’s quick vid sweep of the room.
We set up three stations for the game-curious to creatively engage with games. We had a couple hundred people through the room, and they really seemed to dig it. Craig and Karie sat down people in front of Scratch to mess around with a pre-existing game (Jori’s freaky baby at the end of the vid was an example of this), Mark and Rose showed people the wild fun to be had attaching balloons to buses with Gary’s Mod, and Davin invited people to draw their own videogame character which he then animated in front of their eyes.
You can check out all the characters that were created at Canzine including my crappy one — just click on my character and use the right and left arrow. But even more amazingly, if you have a webcam you can actually draw and animate your character from home.
Here’s how:
1. Print out this PDF.
2. Draw your 4 frames (use colour if you want!)
3. Make sure your webcam is plugged in, go to this page and allow Flash to access it.
4. Put your page in front of the cam and line it up (you might want to try lighting it evenly if you have a desk lamp).
5. Click Grab, and then give it a one word character name. It’ll save it to the server (note: there’s no way to delete this at the moment).
6. Now you can go to the character viewer page and find your name in the list.
Kudos to Davin for making this for the Artcade! I think it’d be great for educators or anyone looking to involve visual artists in videogames. And thanks to the volunteers who made this room possible.
Jph has been working away at the indie arcade cabinet that we’re launching at Canzine Nov. 1st. As you can see here, Canzine’s a great alternative culture and zine fair at a beautiful restored hotel, and tons of creative and talented people come through. It’s a great time to introduce other indie creators and enthusiasts to the indie videogame scene in Toronto, and at last year’s Artcade over 500 people came through and played the 20 games we showcased. This year if we get enough volunteers we’d like to add stations where people can try modding a game, draw their own videogame character, and trying out 3D sketching with Gary’s Mod.
Can you help out on Nov. 1st? Please get in touch if so and we’ll fit you with something you find interesting. It’s not required, but if you have a computer/monitor you can bring or a large vehicle please mention that.
But anyway, on with the pics from Jph’s workshop! Mouse over for commentary, click for larger pics.
If you have suggestions for (or have made) a Toronto indie game that would be awesome on this cabinet, or know of a bar/gallery/any public space where it could travel to after Canzine, let us know ASAP!
Some specs: the games have to be a Windows .exe and can be played with joystick & one button input. They’re going to be played on a lower-res (but big and retro-looking) screen so nothing with tiny type.
The Toronto Indie Game Retrofitted Arcade Cabinet project is underway, and hopefully will have a better name before its fall launch. Jph has sourced a place in Oakville that sells cabinets for $100, so now we have to find the following hardware. Anyone want to donate or know where we can get a really cheap:
monitor (LCD or CRT, let us know screen size and dimensions)
PC (preferably above a P2)
speakers
keyboard
powerbar
The project, if it’s not entirely clear, is to retrofit an old arcade cabinet and put modern indie games by Toronto creators on it and make it available to the public in a bar/gallery/coffee shop. As Jph said at the last Social, “you’d walk by a bunch of familiar games, and then there’d be this game you’d never seen…”
Colin has offered to look into sponsorship/venues for it, and Nadine has offered to do interface and cabinet design, so we’re on our way with this. But feel free to get in touch if you’d like to contribute in some way… maybe you have a large, arcade cabinet sized vehicle for instance?
Over some drinks at the Cameron, the Hand Eye Society membership decided it’d be a good idea to have a bimonthly meeting where game makers and players can hang out and talk about the craft — more of a cultural than a business event. Each Social will have a host who will invite someone to do a talk/presentation and act as G.J. or Selector, bringing a bunch of games they like to get people to play. There’ll also be an “open mic” component, where people can sign up at the beginning of the night to get some projector time to show what they’re working on.
Jim Munroe will be hosting February, which will feature Paolo from Molleindustria. If you’d like to host April, June, August, October, or December 09, please say so in the comments. We are currently looking for a projector and a venue for these events, so if you have any suggestions please leave a comment.
February 11, 2010 3:39 pm | 
The Toronto Indie Game Retrofitted Arcade Cabinet project is underway, and hopefully will have a better name before its fall launch. 
